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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807851">Traditional</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The5thCat/pseuds/The5thCat'>The5thCat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Callum is weird, Dorks in Love, Elf Culture &amp; Customs, F/M, post-season 3, super weird</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:13:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807851</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The5thCat/pseuds/The5thCat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A few weeks after the Battle of the Storm Spire, Callum is finally given some time off. Unsure what to do with it, he decides it’s high time he asked Rayla on every couple’s first rite of passage: a date. It should be pretty simple, right? The thing is, it’s not, and not just because Rayla has no idea what a ‘date’ is.</p>
<p>In which Callum channels his inner Sokka and learns a few things about Moonshadow dating customs.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>139</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Traditional</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've become so absorbed into this fandom lately that it's uncanny. At least this quarantine has been good for something. This idea came to me this week, and I'm really kind of surprised by how long it ended up being. I hope I wrote these two well enough, because it's been a long time since a ship sucked me in like this.</p>
<p>I'm rating this T just to be on the safe side for the most benign suggestive themes out there. I don't know, can't be too careful I guess.</p>
<p>Hope you all enjoy and thanks for taking the time to read my work!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Now, Callum, let’s try it one more time. Give it everything you’ve got.”</p>
<p>Ibis’ watchful eye burned through his back. Callum took in a deep breath and composed himself, focusing on the magical energy rushing through his blood. It stirred within him, a storm ready to be called upon at any moment, and he held his hand out in front of him. Energy poured from his fingertips, crackling softly as he scrawled the rune in the air. It was a slightly different take on a familiar shape, and it cast a new spell entirely.</p>
<p>“Aspiro frigis.” He sucked in another deep breath, noticing that the rune glittered with a faint icy-blue tint as he blew the air back out. The magically enhanced gust ripped itself from his lungs, blasting out with the force of a cyclone. The air crystallized as it left his lips, freezing and expanding as it spread into the open air beyond. A great cloud of freezing wind slashed through the afternoon clouds, so cold that it was almost a gray color as it lashed out across the sky.</p>
<p>With nothing solid for the freezing air to solidify around, the early summer heat melted it down quite quick, and the freeze disintegrated before fading away entirely. Callum breathed in to restore his own breath and Ibis offered him some measured applause. Callum looked over his shoulder at his elven instructor, noting the smile striking across his dark skin.</p>
<p>“Well done, Callum. That was almost perfect.”</p>
<p>“Almost?” Callum asked.</p>
<p>Ibis snorted at his young pupil’s perfectionism. “It was more than good enough. If you were to perform the spell like that in battle, it would’ve worked to perfection. How do you feel?”</p>
<p>Callum looked inwardly for a moment, noting the chill on his lips. “Cold.”</p>
<p>Ibis laughed. “I expected as much,” said the elf, “If you practice enough, it won’t be long at all before the spell doesn’t even affect you.”</p>
<p>“Well, let’s get on with practicing, then,” Callum insisted, readying himself for another run. He brought his hand up, about to draw the rune again before Ibis cleared his throat and stopped him.</p>
<p>“Not today. We’ll save it for another time,” Ibis said. “I want you to take the evening off.”</p>
<p>Callum blinked, goosebumps snaking down his arms as he cocked a quizzical eyebrow at his elven instructor. “Come again?” he asked. Their lessons were always so structured; he rose with the sun to meet Ibis on the dais for warm-ups, and after a solid few hours almost exclusively practicing with his mage wings, they always broke for an early lunch before studying magical theory and then practicing a more diverse group of Sky spells. Coupled with the physical training, their lessons had always stretched well into the night.</p>
<p>Callum was never given time off.</p>
<p>“You heard me. Take the night and morning off. Sleep in, relax, spend some time with Rayla.”</p>
<p>The mention of a certain Moonshadow elf sent an involuntary smile to Callum’s face. Ibis had been… <em>startled</em> upon learning of the true depth of his relationship with Rayla, but he had never dared to speak against them (Callum suspected that Rayla frightened him just a tad). Whether Ibis’ true thoughts were positive or negative, the Skywing mage had let the two of them do their thing.</p>
<p>He supposed that it <em>was </em>strange, watching a human and an elf be in love, but to Callum and Rayla it just felt… right. They didn’t care what anyone else thought, because <em>this </em>was <em>them</em> and nobody else. There was a reason those feelings had all come rushing out while they were crossing the Midnight Desert, no matter how hard Callum had tried to make a mess of things. It was just <em>right.</em></p>
<p>Callum vaguely noticed Ibis was watching him, a quirky smirk on the elven mage’s face. “Pupil Callum,” Ibis called, startling Callum out of his reverie. His ears burned, mildly embarrassed that he’d been caught daydreaming so red-handedly. “Do you think you can manage that?” Ibis asked.</p>
<p>Callum smirked back at the elder elf, “Sure thing, Master Ibis,” he said back, throwing in a respectful bow. The Skywing mage chuckled.</p>
<p>“You’re welcome to stay here on your own for a bit longer. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Ibis turned on his heel and plodded down the staircase, his staff at his side. Callum lingered on the dais, taking time to just feel the wind. The breeze sent magic stirring in his gut, connecting him to the primal power of the Sky. The Storm Spire doubled as the Sky Nexus, so its magic was inherently stronger here than anywhere else. Callum imagined that this was what the Moon Nexus had felt like for Rayla, if she had ever taken a moment to let herself feel the natural energy there. There was a certain… <em>kinship </em>at this place for him, a link that would forever remain anchored somewhere within him. An understanding that nowhere else would he ever feel so connected to the source of the raw magic that circulated within him.</p>
<p>Once he was done admiring the view, Callum made his own way back down the steps. The staircase circled precariously around the spindly summit, carved millennia ago by the all-powerful hands of the Archdragons of the Sky. The mountain wasn’t quite spared from the ravages of time, though. Some of those scars were ancient, like the barely noticeable erosion scraping all across the shell of the peak, while others were far more recent, such as the familiar cavity in one of the stone steps where Rayla’s sword had embedded itself after Viren had batted her away.</p>
<p>Callum eyed that particular spot every time he passed it; the memory of those events still so fresh that they might as well have only just occurred. Callum’s head pounded. He wished he could simply forget, that the memories would leave him alone. Sure, it had all worked out in the end, but the memory of watching Rayla tumble over the edge of the Storm Spire was still a source of primal fear, a vivid image that made his skin crawl and his breath hitch each and every time he unwillingly pictured it.</p>
<p>Eventually he reached the foot of the long staircase and the smooth stone suddenly became ornate and gilded beneath his feet. The mouth of the great cave that served as the Dragon Queen’s den opened before him, a preposterously large cleft in the face of the mountain that left Callum awestruck every time.</p>
<p>Wondering where Rayla had gone, he entered the cave. In the two weeks since the others (including Ezran) had left the mountain behind, she almost never ventured lower than the cavern, dutiful in her assignment as Dragonguard. The den’s “foyer”, as Callum liked to jokingly call it, was empty, so he pressed on and began climbing the staircase that led further in, listening to the serene trickle of the fountain in the center of the room.</p>
<p>The sound of her laugh further inside the den proved his intuition right and he gained a slight spring in his step as he finished making his way up the stairs. Rayla’s laughter grew steadily louder and Callum crossed the walkway leading to the next set of stairs, slipping through the next crevice in the rock to enter the den. The first thing he saw was Zubeia, her enormous form curled up and watching the ground inquisitively. She noticed him enter, azure eyes flicking in his direction, but she remained silent. At her great feet, Zym was chasing after Rayla, his tongue dangling out from his jaws as Rayla teasingly led him along, looking over her shoulder all the way.</p>
<p>Rayla feinted left before darting to the right, but Zym was hardly fooled. The Dragon Prince lunged, flapping his wings once to generate enough thrust to crash into the elf girl’s back. Rayla took the hit and dropped to the ground in an exaggerated gesture.</p>
<p>“Curses! You’ve caught me, great prince!” Rayla lamented. Zym chirped, amused, and reared up so he could stamp his little paws playfully into Rayla’s back. “Please, spare me, I beg you!” Rayla egged the little dragon on, peeking over her shoulder as she laid on her stomach. She was failing to hide the grin pulling at her lips, which only spurred Zym even more.</p>
<p>The baby dragon sentenced her to a healthy helping of zappy kisses on the cheek. Rayla finally broke down into laughter, the static electricity making her ticklish. Callum grinned like mad as he carefully went down the steps, reluctant to break up the pair’s game. Rayla noticed him making his way over first, and her divided attention caught Zym’s eye. Zym saw Callum and immediately launched off of Rayla’s back to fly at him, crashing into Callum’s chest and offering him a few kisses to match.</p>
<p>“Hi, Zym. Having fun?” Callum asked. Zym chirped and he set the Dragon Prince back on the ground. Rayla was stalking towards him, ice-white hair swaying with her motion. When she reached him, she snatched a fistful of his scarf and yanked him toward her, planting a chaste, silky-smooth kiss on his lips. She tasted ever so slightly of moonberries, and he couldn’t help but follow her just a hair as she pulled back from him. She noticed the involuntary reaction and smirked.</p>
<p>“I missed you.”</p>
<p>“I ate lunch with you,” he said, hoping he didn’t come across as trying to contradict her. He <em>had </em>missed her, too, but his brain was hardwired to either state facts or be brutally sarcastic at the most inopportune times.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Rayla was hardly miffed. “Still missed ya,” she said, and sent butterflies stirring in his stomach. She took his hand and stood beside him as Callum glanced up at the Dragon Queen, towering over them and gazing with watchful indigo eyes.</p>
<p>“Queen Zubeia,” he greeted with a bow of his head.</p>
<p>“Callum,” said the great dragoness, her voice casually deafening in the great chamber, “You’re back early.”</p>
<p>“Ibis decided I should have the night off. I guess he’s worried about me not taking any time for myself.”</p>
<p>Zubeia hummed, a certain gleam in her sharp eyes. “We must all take time for ourselves away from our duties eventually. It helps us maintain a measure of sanity.” Zubeia exhaled deeply, the sound echoing, “I suppose, then, that I should dismiss Rayla for the evening as well.”</p>
<p>Callum glanced over at Rayla, noting how her features twitched, puzzled. “Are you sure, my Queen?”</p>
<p>“Quite,” said Zubeia, “I think Azymondias and I shall escape for an evening flight.” Zym chirped excitedly and flapped towards his mother, earning a loving gaze from Zubeia. Keeping Zym entertained was nearly an all-day affair with Ezran back in Katolis. The baby dragon had taken the separation even harder than the one before it, when Ezran had first returned to their home to assume the throne.</p>
<p>Rayla bowed her head. “As you wish, Your Majesty,” she said, and turned to leave the den. Callum followed, feeling the Dragon Queen’s gaze lingering on their backs. Like Ibis, Zubeia had never been outright disapproving of their relationship, but there was no telling what went on in the Dragon Queen’s head. Callum believed that she had a higher opinion of him in particular compared to most humans, since he had been one of the two that had traveled all the way from his home to return her child, but elf-human relationships had practically been a thing of fiction ever since the partitioning of Xadia. Seeing one in the flesh in her own den had to be a source of mixed feelings, to say the least.</p>
<p>Sometimes it was harder to avoid wondering about these things than he liked it to be. He and Rayla operated on a philosophy that their relationship was no one’s business but their own, and usually he subscribed to it. That didn’t always stop him from wondering what others thought, though. Curse his overactive brain.</p>
<p>He and Rayla walked hand-in-hand up the steps leading out of Zubeia’s den and back into the cavern’s front room, the fountain in the center springing to life.</p>
<p>“So, this is unusual. A whole night off from… well, everything,” said Callum.</p>
<p>Rayla laughed. “Whatever will we do with all this free time?” Her violet eyes gleamed with a hint of mischief. “I think I have an idea.”</p>
<p>Callum didn’t have a chance to ask her to elaborate before Rayla grabbed another fistful of his scarf and dragged him toward her. She caught his lips with her own and dealt him a forceful kiss, making no effort to be gentle. Callum reciprocated, but Rayla undoubtedly had control. The foyer was hardly the place to make out, but sometimes his elven paramour simply could not be stopped. He didn’t mind it when she took charge, really. There was a certain thrill to be found in Rayla having her way with him.</p>
<p>This time, though, an unbidden thought occurred to him, and he peeled back before Rayla could really reel him in. Her lips were slightly swollen from the sheer force she’d kissed him with, and her eyes flashed with a self-consciousness that absolutely <em>did not </em>belong there. Callum very nearly regretted pulling away at all, simply so he could spare her the self-doubt.</p>
<p>“Callum?”</p>
<p>“I just—I-I had an idea of my own,” he stammered. Sometimes he felt like they were moving so fast, and the nature of how their relationship had begun and how things around them had been since then had prevented either of them from doing much more than kissing or holding hands or holding one another while they slept. The typical rituals, the things that built up human relationships, he and Rayla hadn’t gotten around to those yet.</p>
<p>He was thinking, of course, about dating. He’d only been on one before, with Claudia back at the Moon Nexus (and sometimes he wondered just how much of that night had been truth and how much had been manipulation), but he’d done no such things yet with Rayla.</p>
<p>It wasn’t hurting their relationship, not by a long shot. But now that he’d been authorized to spend every waking minute of the evening doing whatever he wanted, he found himself weirdly troubled.</p>
<p>“I’m listening,” Rayla said.</p>
<p>Callum tried to compose himself and failed. What was his deal all of a sudden? He should just say it as quickly as he could, with as little awkwardness as possible. “I don’t know, I was thinking that we could… uh… do an activity together?”</p>
<p>Oh, what a <em>fantastic </em>start he was off to.</p>
<p>Rayla’s eye twitched and she gave him a merciless snicker, proving for certain that Callum had actually phrased it that way. “Do an activity?” she repeated. She descended into a brief bout of laughter, the absurdity of the statement hitting her at full force. “And what <em>activities</em> did you have in mind there, Sad Prince?”</p>
<p>Callum hid his face in his hands. “This is not going how I’d expected,” he mumbled, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What I’m… <em>attempting</em> to say is—oh, <em>why is this so embarrassing?”</em></p>
<p>Rayla brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders, centering him. The weight of her hands was always an oddly grounding sensation, whether it was locked up in Callum’s own hand, ruffling his hair, or nudging him in some way. Rayla’s attention let him see clearly, as if she were a ray of moonlight penetrating through smothering darkness.</p>
<p>“Callum,” she said carefully, “Come on. What is it?”</p>
<p>“Nothing, I just…” He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he gulped. This did <em>not </em>need to be so difficult. “I thought you might like to go on a… a date.”</p>
<p>One of Rayla’s eyebrows rose. “A date?” she repeated, puzzled.</p>
<p>“Yeah, you know. A date.” Callum pointed his fingers back and forth between them for emphasis, his cheeks already burning like fire. “A thing where people who are… together… do something… for fun… together?” Oh, stars, he was actually having to explain the concept to her, and he was failing miserably at it. Could this <em>go </em>any worse?</p>
<p>Rayla’s eyes widened slightly as if she were finally realizing his implication, and a teasing gleam appeared in her violet eyes. “Callum, are you asking to court me?”</p>
<p>The ensuing blush ran all the way up to Callum’s ears. Every pathetic ounce of composure that he’d managed to retain flooded out of him as he broke down into full-on, unrelenting stammering. “Oh, well, I—I guess in a sense, yeah, that’s what I’m trying to say. Is-is-is that okay?”</p>
<p>Rayla smirked and snared Callum’s chin with the tip of her finger, leaning in to peck him on the nose. “It’s very okay,” she said, “But maybe give me a little time to clean up, yeah? Playing with Zym all day long breaks quite the sweat.”</p>
<p>Callum blinked and tried for his best smile. “Y-yeah, that sounds great. Besides, it’s not even sunset yet, and I feel like these things are better in the evening, you know?” Rayla, in fact, did not know, and her expression said as much. Callum’s discomfort managed to grow even more and he settled for giving her a thumbs-up <em>(real smooth, Callum). </em>“Yeah, that’s good with me. Take all the time you need,” he blurted, and that time Rayla smiled.</p>
<p>She playfully swatted him on the arm. “No need to get so embarrassed there, Sad Prince. Why don’t you come get me a little after sunset?”</p>
<p>“I’ll be there.” Rayla nodded and turned on her heel, trotting back to her quarters with a noticeable spring in her step. It lifted some of the weight off of Callum’s shoulders, but not much. Once she disappeared into the corridors of the cavern, he let his head fall into his hand. <em>Why </em>had <em>that </em>been so hard? He’d acted like he once had around Claudia, and he and Rayla were <em>way </em>further along in their relationship than he and Claudia <em>ever </em>were. That was to say, he and Claudia had <em>never</em> been in anything that one might consider a relationship.</p>
<p>Maybe he was just weird, and it would still be a while before he finally grew out of his weirdness. Rayla <em>had </em>said that he was ‘super weird’ back in the Midnight Desert. And she had had a point, but lately it had been an exceptionally long time since his apparently innate weirdness had reared its ugly head. Perhaps the newfound responsibilities of being a mage in-training had just limited his opportunities for being weird. That made sense, right?</p>
<p>Callum groaned to himself and headed to his own quarters, which weren’t very far down the hall from Rayla’s. Though they technically had separate rooms, they had shared more often than not over the last two weeks—not to get up to anything, but rather as a safeguard against the nightmares. For some reason, having one another safely tucked in their arms seemed to ward off the majority of the bad dreams they’d each been dealing with since the battle and its stressful climax. Callum didn’t dare to question it.</p>
<p>As soon as he was safely behind his door, he let out a deep sigh. He wondered what Ez would say to him right now. Probably something like <em>you stink, big bro</em> or <em>that was so cute, Callum!</em></p>
<p>He caught a whiff of himself and decided that Ezran would’ve told him the first thing. He’d bathed yesterday, but not today, since his training with Ibis dictated that he be up with the sun, and that never gave him the necessary time to draw a bath in the morning.</p>
<p>Right. If Rayla was going to clean herself up before later, he should at least have the decency to do the same.</p>
<hr/>
<p>What exactly counted as ‘a little after sunset’?</p>
<p>Callum had no frame of reference to go off of. After he deemed himself ready for his date with Rayla, he’d ventured outside the cave to watch the sun start to set. He’d been sitting on a ledge for half an hour now, debating the answer to his question with himself.</p>
<p>He didn’t want to show up at Rayla’s door too early and interrupt whatever her <em>process</em> was. He also didn’t want to be late, though. How late would he need to be before Rayla left her room herself and stalked the halls looking for him? Would she be angry if that happened? Was he late already?</p>
<p>Oh, for goodness sake, he should just get up and go find her now. The sun was almost halfway below the horizon now, probably offering them up to an hour of daylight before darkness set in. Callum pushed himself up from his solitary ledge and doubled back to the cave. The evening light crafted a long, pointy shadow through the crevice that served as the cave’s opening, a narrow darkness splitting the remaining light that filtered inside.</p>
<p>He padded through the cavern’s front room towards the narrow corridor on the right, where the bedrooms were. There were eight rooms in all, one each intended for every individual member of the former Dragonguard. Callum and Rayla had taken up residence in two of them, as had Ibis further down the hall.</p>
<p>Rayla’s old room had previously belonged to her parents, something they’d easily been able to determine thanks to the traditional Moonshadow markings carved into the door’s wooden face. Though she didn’t use it much thanks to often sleeping in Callum’s room, she still stored her belongings and used the bathroom inside. He was glad that she did. Had they been in this situation and not been able to learn what had really happened to her parents, Callum worried that Rayla would’ve avoided the room like the plague.</p>
<p>Callum planted his feet in front of the door, running a few self-conscious fingers through his bangs before raising his hand towards the door. He curled his fingers into a fist and knocked gently, his knuckles clacking against the wood.</p>
<p>“Rayla?”</p>
<p>He heard her voice loud and clear through the door. <em>“It’s open!”</em></p>
<p>Callum shrugged to himself and pushed the door open so he could peek inside. Rayla was sitting in a chair at a small desk, a fairly large mirror nailed to the wall in front of her. She was fiddling with something on the side of her head that he couldn’t see, her jaw clenched and rigid as she concentrated.</p>
<p>He slipped the rest of the way through the door and let it close behind him. He drew closer to Rayla and the mirror and noticed whatever she was working on in the reflection. She was trying to weave a flower into the hair by her ear.</p>
<p>Rayla deemed her work satisfactory and peeled her hands away, only for the flower to dangle in her hair for a few seconds before falling to the desk. Rayla growled and brought her hand up to her face, resting her elbow on the desk to prop her arm up.</p>
<p>Callum reached her side, his reflection materializing in the mirror. Rayla perked up, meeting his reflection’s eyes. “Everything okay?” he asked, noticing the obvious discontent on her face.</p>
<p>“This stupid flower doesn’t want to stay in my hair,” she said.</p>
<p>“Do you want to wear a flower in your hair?” Callum asked, “Don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t really seem like your style.”</p>
<p>“It’s not,” Rayla said curtly. She frowned, and immediately Callum wanted to kiss the expression off of her face. “But I thought I should try to look nice, and—”</p>
<p>Callum rested his hand on her shoulder, grounding her like she had just done with him a little over an hour ago. “You look absolutely beautiful just the way you are,” he said as he squeezed her shoulder.</p>
<p>“You’re just sayin’ that.”</p>
<p>“No, I’m not,” he insisted, “Where’s this coming from, exactly?”</p>
<p>Rayla sighed and averted her gaze in the direction of the wall, finding some security in not being able to see his reaction. “I don’t really know what I’m doing,” she admitted, as if it were something to be ashamed of. Callum hummed under his breath and extended his hand to her. The motion in her peripheral vision convinced Rayla to glance back at the mirror, noticing his outstretched hand.</p>
<p>“I don’t know what I’m doing, either,” he said, “Maybe we can try to figure it out some along the way, if you want.”</p>
<p>Rayla chuckled quietly and turned her head over her shoulder to look at him for real this time. “You, mister sky mage, are too kind to me.”</p>
<p>“Not true,” Callum said, quietly thankful that in the hour or so since they’d last spoken, he’d regained some measure of self-confidence. Rayla took his hand, weaving her four fingers through the gaps between his five digits, and pushed her chair back so she could stand. She had about an inch of height on him without her horns, but Callum didn’t mind at all. He kind of liked having to look ever so slightly up at her. He <em>did </em>look up to her as a person, after all. It seemed fitting to have to do that literally and metaphorically.</p>
<p>Rayla squeezed his hand. “Let’s go, Sappy Prince.”</p>
<p>They walked hand-in-hand out of the room and down the corridor back into the foyer before leaving the cavern entirely. Outside, the sun was just a hair further beneath the horizon, casting a warm, golden-orange glow into the sky around them.</p>
<p>“So, what now?” Rayla asked him, “There’s not exactly a nice place to eat around here.”</p>
<p>“Oh, does that mean I should tell Lujanne to go ahead and leave?” Callum tapped his fingers together in a facetious show of nerves as if he’d been caught off-guard. “She was going to bring some romantic food illusions. Maybe an illusion candle? An illusion breadbasket for the table?”</p>
<p>Rayla was only mildly amused. “That had better be a joke.”</p>
<p>Callum grinned. “Yep. Joke. I promise. There will be no Moon Mage shenanigans this evening.”</p>
<p>“Good.” Rayla looked around. “So, what <em>are </em>we going to do?”</p>
<p>“I thought we could go for a flight and watch the sunset. If-if that sounds like fun to you,” Callum suggested.</p>
<p>Rayla accepted the idea. “Lead the way, mage,” she said, and Callum had to force himself to stop looking at the way the sunset reflected off of her hair and face. They headed for the steps leading to the summit, the setting sun casting their shadows against the mountain beside them.</p>
<p>“So, what did you say it was called? Whatever this is?” Rayla asked him partway up the steps. “A date?” she recalled, her facial expression showing that the word was still foreign on her tongue. Callum looked over at her, at their joined hands between them, and smiled.</p>
<p>“Yeah. Humans go out of their houses to do things with people they like,” Callum explained. He had his own question on the tip of his tongue—it didn’t add up for him that Rayla didn’t know what he was talking about. “Do elves not date other elves?”</p>
<p>“Well, I guess the basics are pretty much the same,” said Rayla, “But it all just kinda falls under ‘courting’ in the Moonshadow social dictionary. We spend time in public with our paramours—”</p>
<p>“Plural?” Callum asked, his tone partway between jealous, suspicious, and playful.</p>
<p>Rayla rolled her eyes especially hard and smacked him on the arm with her free hand. “Para<em>mour,” </em>she said, “And we try to figure out if we can spend the rest of our lives with them.”</p>
<p>“That’s… pretty much the same, yeah,” Callum said. “Have you ever been, uh… <em>courted </em>by someone else?”</p>
<p>Rayla threw her head back and laughed out loud. “Not a chance. Runaan made sure to keep me from mingling with my male peers as much as elvenly possible. I was always training with him, or learning how to make things with Ethari, or picking up my room, or whatever it was that Runaan dreamed up for me next to keep me busy and away from the boys.”</p>
<p>“That’s surprising,” Callum said, “From what I remember of him, I can see him really enjoying aiming his bow at a poor kid and threatening to shoot a couple of arrows at him if he didn’t have you home by sundown.”</p>
<p>Rayla started to giggle, and the sound made Callum’s heart sprout wings and threaten to fly out of his chest into the sky. She was so amazing; fast, smart, beautiful, funny, oh so daring, kind, determined… she was everything and more, and the few flaws in her that Callum could find only made him fall deeper in love with her.</p>
<p>“In a way, he kind of already did that to you,” Rayla quipped. Callum smirked—she wasn’t too far off. The assassin leader had aimed a razor-sharp arrow at him and Ezran that night at the castle, commanding them to hand over the egg. He’d had no doubt that the imposing elf’s aim would be true. Had Rayla not stepped in front of them and told them to run, Callum was sure that he would’ve ended up finding out.</p>
<p>He realized that Rayla had gone quiet and glanced at her, startled when he noticed that her ears had noticeably drooped, their pointy ends curling in on themselves. She wasn’t quite looking forward now, tilting her face away from the path ahead of them.</p>
<p>Callum cursed at himself in his head. <em>Stupid, stupid, stupid, </em>why had he kept talking about her dead adoptive father? She was still carrying a fair amount of guilt and completing their quest to return Zym had not magically solved all of her problems. She was still banished from the Silvergrove, the assassins she’d come to Katolis with were all still dead. The only thing in her life from before they’d met that had changed for the better was her opinion on her parents—learning that they had given their lives to protect Zym rather than fled had mostly healed a personal wound that she’d been carrying around with her for months on end.</p>
<p>Callum scrambled his brain for something more uplifting to talk about. “Hey, uh, how’s recruiting for the Dragonguard going?” While he had been honing his skills as a mage under Ibis’ tutelage, Rayla’s responsibilities had revolved around both serving as the last Dragonguard and rebuilding the elite group. There was now a baby dragon that needed protecting, and one Moonshadow elf was ultimately not enough for the job.</p>
<p>Rayla glanced partially back at him. Callum noticed the ghost of a tear in her right eye, not quite ready to fall, and she blinked it away before cracking a more relaxed smile. “Good, I think. I know Ibis found a Skywing warrior that was right for the job,” Rayla recalled, “He’s supposed to be heading this way in the next few days. And I’ve heard back from a Sunfire general from Lux Aurea, as well as an Earthblood elf to the south of here.”</p>
<p>“Sounds like we’ll be seeing some new faces soon.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, probably.” Rayla nudged him with her shoulder. “Hey. Thanks.” The sentiment wasn’t lost on him. She was grateful to him for trying to distract her from her darker thoughts, and while her admission showed that it hadn’t worked to perfection, he was okay with that. What mattered was that she knew he cared, that he tried.</p>
<p>“Don’t mention it,” was all he said, and he squeezed her hand to get the point across. Eager to engage him in some more positive conversation of her own, Rayla spoke up.</p>
<p>“Have you heard from Ez again?”</p>
<p>Callum shook his head. “Not since the letter that came a couple days ago. I sent one back this morning to tell him about all the new spells Ibis has been teaching me. And I threw a quick sketch of Zym in there to hopefully cheer him up some.”</p>
<p>The letter from Ezran had been a small surprise, delivered by a crow carrying a letter bearing the King’s seal. Ez had written to him that they’d arrived back in Katolis after several days of traveling. They’d received a heroes’ welcome, and he was hoping to soon announce an initiative to open the border between Xadia and Katolis—carefully at first, but ideally with the endgame intention of promoting peace and mutual prosperity between elves and humans. Bait was even grumpier than usual, and Barius was bringing him a daily stock of jelly tarts every morning to munch on throughout the day.</p>
<p>For the most part, things seemed to be running smoothly in Katolis.</p>
<p>The parting had been hard for everyone, but Ezran had been sad to leave Callum most of all, and in a different way than when he had split up with them to return to Katolis and take the throne the first time. Back then, there had been an understanding that if everything went right, Callum would at the very least be back at the castle within a few short weeks. Once Zym was home, the two brothers would be together again.</p>
<p>But of course, none of them could’ve foreseen the way that things had actually gone. None of them could’ve even guessed at the developments that would take place in that short window of time apart. And with Rayla needing to remain at the Storm Spire as Zym’s Dragonguard, it became painfully clear that in order to return to Katolis, Callum would have to leave his heart behind him a world away in Xadia.</p>
<p>Ez had known that Callum couldn’t do that to himself, and he wasn’t going to wield his power as King to order him to return and rip his friends apart at the seams himself. So, Ezran had told him to stay, to master magic and find his place in the world with Rayla at his side. There would always be a place reserved for the both of them in the castle, should they one day come to want it.</p>
<p>His brother was wise beyond his years, kinder and more considerate than any ten-year-old kid had any right to be. It occurred to Callum not for the first time that he was incredibly lucky to have him.</p>
<p>“He’s going to be a great King.”</p>
<p>Callum smiled. “Yeah, he is.” They reached the point in the steps where they looped around and climbed up to the dais on the summit. Flashes of memories flickered before Callum’s eyes again, when he’d been too late to stop Rayla from tackling Viren off of the mountainside, when he’d thrown his bag off of his shoulder and leaped after her, heart desperate and racing and on the verge of bursting from his sternum.</p>
<p>When he’d just admitted it and broken the last restraint holding back his mage wings, swooping down to snatch her from the jaws of certain death.</p>
<p>“Here we are,” Callum said. He noticed Rayla eyeing the summit warily as well and, quick to distract her, Callum took a big step back from her and stuck his arms out. <em>“Manus. Pluma. Volantis.”</em></p>
<p>The feathers appeared slowly at first, starting at his shoulders and growing from his skin like weeds. They sped up as they began to grow further down his arms, each individual plume a pristine brown like that of a healthy tree trunk. His mage wings took shape and he spread them out at his sides, smirking as he caught Rayla watching him, impressed.</p>
<p>“All aboard,” he said, and Rayla snickered as she stepped closer to him. She coiled her arms around the back of his neck, holding herself flush against him. She got a mischievous gleam in her eye and brought her legs to curl around his. Her real reason for it was so she wouldn’t have to be dangling from his neck for the entire flight, but Callum didn’t need to know that.</p>
<p>“Is this okay?” she asked, her voice low and conspiratorial. Callum blushed, a burning line of pink materializing just below the bridge of his nose and beneath his eyes, but the flush didn’t last long. If she was going to be suggestive, then two could play at that game.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry,” he said, and wrapped his wings around her so he could crush her against him. Rayla stifled a yelp as he brought her closer, the tips of their noses touching. Her lilac eyes went wide at the closer proximity, and Callum smirked. “I’ll be gentle,” he said, and <em>there </em>was the rest of the confidence he’d been missing for the last several minutes.</p>
<p>Callum unfurled his wings and leaped, catching the wind easily with a few powerful wingbeats. Rayla’s grip on him tightened, afraid of falling, and Callum wished that the spell instead conjured wings on his back so that he could hold her in his arms as reassurance. He rolled along the wind currents, flapping his mage wings to gain altitude while Rayla held on tight. He glanced down and saw she was watching the sky float by them, and he drifted towards a cluster of nearby clouds.</p>
<p>The closer they flew towards the clouds, the more their cottony shapes began to break up and appear more like what they were. The wispy mists that made them up glittered in the sunset (were even the clouds in Xadia magical? He’d have to bring his rune cube up here next time).</p>
<p>Rayla looked very deliberately back and forth between him and the clouds they were floating past. Callum smirked at her speechless expression. “Go on, touch them. I’ve got you,” Callum assured her. Carefully, Rayla detached one of her arms from around his neck, and she clenched her remaining arm and legs more tightly around him to make up for it. She reached out with four wiggling fingers, her digits melting into the mist. She waved her hand through the cloud, scattering some of it.</p>
<p>“It’s kind of disappointing,” she commented.</p>
<p>“Really?” Callum scoffed, “C’mon, do you know how many Moonshadow elves have ever literally touched the clouds before? And you say it’s disappointing?”</p>
<p>Rayla smirked and looped her arm back around Callum’s neck. She shrugged, almost annoyingly flippant. “I’m just saying, they look more exciting than they are.” She was teasing him, he knew.</p>
<p>“Well, I’m glad that your expectations are so in check and level-headed.”</p>
<p>Rayla tilted her head back to look up ahead of them, examining the setting sun in the distance. “It’s really beautiful up here, though,” she said, “D’you ever think about the sun?”</p>
<p>“Uh,” Callum slurred, “Maybe? It keeps us warm, I guess, and lets us see where we’re going?” He was pretty sure he was totally failing whatever test she was giving him, but Rayla just laughed.</p>
<p>“No, silly mage,” she teased, “It rises and sets every day without fail, and we take that for granted, you know? Same with the moon. They do it over and over again, and they’ll keep doing it after we’re gone.”</p>
<p>“You’re really laying the wisdom on thick today,” Callum said, deadpan, “We’re supposed to be having fun.”</p>
<p>“I <em>am </em>having fun,” Rayla contended, a gleam in her eye. “Brooding like that counts as fun for Moonshadow elves.”</p>
<p>Callum smirked. “Hm, yeah, I’m not convinced. I’m gonna pick up the pace, if that’s okay with you.” Rayla’s brow furrowed as she looked at him, the tips of her ears wilting slightly.</p>
<p>“What do you mean, pick up the—”</p>
<p>Callum leaned into a dive, startling Rayla so much that she tightened her hold on his body. “Hang on!” he crowed, and they picked up speed as they descended. Callum didn’t stay like that long, pulling up and beating his wings to ascend as quickly as he could. They climbed, shooting through a knot of clouds, kicking up tufts of mist everywhere, and Callum began to spin in midair, rotating and continuing to beat his wings and ascend.</p>
<p>He turned his gaze to Rayla, the wind whipping her silvery hair in a dozen different directions. She seemed to be enjoying herself, having ever so slightly loosened her hold on him and cracked a smile. They locked eyes.</p>
<p>“Alright, this is kinda fun,” she conceded. Callum leaned his head toward her, still spinning in midair, and captured her lips. The wind howled around them, but couldn’t disrupt them, and Rayla pulled back just an inch and giggled.</p>
<p>They kept flying throughout the sunset, until the sky grew dark and revealed a whole new wonder to them: that of flying beneath a starry sky. The moon was just barely a sliver in the night sky, a waxing crescent that left the sky so dark that the stars were as bright as could be, twinkling on the curtain of darkness at their backs.</p>
<p>“Isn’t this amazing?” Callum asked her, “The only way it could be better is if there was no moonlight.”</p>
<p>Just out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rayla’s face wrinkle. He glanced back in her direction, frowning. “No thank you,” she said, and Callum’s head began pounding with the sound of alarm bells.</p>
<p>“Did I say something wrong?”</p>
<p>Rayla flinched as she seemed to realize how she had said it. “Oh, no. No,” she insisted, shaking her head for emphasis. “You didn’t say anything. It’s just that Moonshadow elves hate new moons.”</p>
<p>“Really?” said Callum, “Why?”</p>
<p>Rayla shrugged. “I can’t really explain the feeling it gives us. I mean, I know <em>why </em>it makes us feel the way it does, but the way my body reacts is kind of… wrong? Not having any moonlight around means almost no magic, which <em>kind of </em>freaks us out. It’s like a part of us is missing for one night.”</p>
<p>Callum frowned. The new moon had just been last night, and Rayla had seemed fine. “I didn’t even notice,” he blurted.</p>
<p>“I can usually tolerate it by now,” Rayla explained, “The best way I think I can describe it is just like a sinking feeling in my stomach. It’s not going to kill me, and I can function normally, but I would really prefer it if I could just feel one-hundred percent again.”</p>
<p>Callum thought he understood what she was getting at. “Well, I’ll remember to just stargaze by myself when it’s a new moon, then,” he said. “How are you feeling now?”</p>
<p>Rayla cocked an eyebrow. “You mean, with the moon, or…?” She trailed off.</p>
<p>“No, physically. You’ve been hanging onto me for a while now. Do you want to head back down?” Callum clarified. Rayla looked up at the night sky again, and Callum followed her gaze.</p>
<p>“Eh, maybe five more minutes.”</p>
<p>Callum smiled, and obliged.</p>
<p>When they eventually returned to the summit, the crescent moon was high in the night sky. It was so dark that it was almost difficult to see the ground beneath his feet, but Callum still managed to land. Rayla set her feet on the ground just after him and relaxed her hold around him, letting her arms fall to her sides again. Callum extinguished his mage wings, letting the feathers retreat back into his skin.</p>
<p>Callum eyed his bare arms and the runic paint that marked them. He was still amazed by all the things he could do. <em>Wings</em> grew <em>out of his arms on command.</em> Not even two months ago, he couldn’t even get a simple sword parry right.</p>
<p>“Finished admiring yourself?” Rayla’s voice made him snap his head up. She was smirking, one hand resting on her hip.</p>
<p>Callum chuckled and lowered his head. “Yeah, I guess I am,” he said, “You know, I don’t really want to go back inside yet.”</p>
<p>Rayla let her hand fall away from her hip, eyeing him for a moment before her lips quirked up in a smile. “Then let’s stay up here for a while. It’s not like we have anywhere to be.” She walked past him and set a hand on his shoulder, guiding him over to the steps that led away from the dais. She sat down at the edge, extending her legs so that her feet rested two steps down. Callum mirrored her, sitting on her left, and they both looked up at the sky, watching the stars flicker across the sky. He took her hand, sliding his arm inside hers so that their forearms touched as well.</p>
<p>Callum dug his fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “So, why don’t you tell me some more about Moonshadow courting rituals?”</p>
<p>“Oh? Eager to learn?”</p>
<p>“Well, you know me; student of the game, and all. If the game is magical creatures and magic in general,” Callum drawled.</p>
<p>“Well, where to start?” Rayla said, humming to herself, “For one thing, touching is <em>especially </em>intimate in Moonshadow culture.”</p>
<p>Callum imagined that if he had been sipping from a drink at that moment, he would’ve spat the contents of it everywhere. Because, you know, he was touching her arm and hand about as much as humanly possible, and as much as he was head over heels in love with Rayla, he definitely wouldn’t say their relationship was anywhere close to crossing the lines of <em>especially intimate.</em></p>
<p>So, of course, all he said was, “Really?”</p>
<p>“Yep,” Rayla said curtly. She tilted her head at him, wearing that maddening smirk again. “Arms and horns, especially.”</p>
<p>
  <em>He touched her horns all the time.</em>
</p>
<p>He pulled his hand away from hers, snaking his arm away and shielding his face with his now-free right hand. He could <em>feel </em>his face heating up to a nice, ripe red complexion, the humiliation brought on by learning that he was basically giving the finger to every elven dating milestone in the book. If <em>touching </em>was seen as <em>especially intimate, </em>then what in the world was the next step <em>after</em> that?</p>
<p>Rayla started to giggle, and he could just see the way her whole body shook when she laughed like that.</p>
<p>“Callum, calm down,” Rayla said through her giggling, “It’s not a big deal. So what if those are the traditional rules where I’m from. If I was a traditional Moonshadow elf, do you think I’d be interested in you?”</p>
<p>Callum created a gap between his fingers, peeking through it at her. “You’re interested in me?” he said half-seriously.</p>
<p>“Oh, does the constant hugging and kissing not give it away?” Rayla drawled, crossing her arms and giving him a death glare. “How about the ‘I love you’s every night before bed? Are those good enough hints?”</p>
<p>Callum grinned and dropped his hand away from his face. “Well, I just had to make sure all of this wasn’t part of a drawn-out plot to assassinate me and then drink my blood. You know, like elves do.”</p>
<p>Rayla held his gaze for a moment and then scoffed. “You’re so weird,” she said, but there was a smile in her eyes that didn’t fully appear on her face. Callum smirked and snared her hand in his again, Moonshadow customs be damned.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but you love me.”</p>
<p>“That I do,” said Rayla, and suddenly she leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. Their joined hands became the slimmest of buffers, pressed together between his right leg and her left.</p>
<p>Another question brewed in Callum’s head. He frowned, puzzled, and turned his gaze to look down at Rayla. She was watching the stars, not noticing that his eyes were on her.</p>
<p>“Hey, Rayla?” he said, and he pointed his eyes at the steps as Rayla turned her head up a bit so she could see him. “When do traditional Moonshadow elves typically say, ‘I love you’?”</p>
<p>“Hmm. Well, I guess it varies,” said Rayla, “Some wait a long time, others not as long, and some elves just know. Why?”</p>
<p>“No reason,” Callum half-lied, “Humans just typically wait a long time to say it. It’s pretty important to us.”</p>
<p>“So, why’d you say it so soon?”</p>
<p>“Well,” he started, “Because you’re important to me. Because I meant it. I <em>do </em>mean it. I guess I just knew.”</p>
<p>“Sappy Prince.”</p>
<p>She reached up with her lips and Callum got the message, tilting his head and leaning down to kiss her. It was simple, a chaste and gentle peck, but somehow it meant everything, communicating every word they had to say without making a peep.</p>
<p>Upon pulling away, Callum leaned against Rayla, his ear brushing the edge of some of her hair as one of her horns stopped him from completely setting the side of his head against hers. <em>Touching her horns. </em>“I love you, Rayla,” he breathed, and the words rolling off his tongue seemed to fill his lungs with fresh air, giving him strength.</p>
<p>“I love you too, Callum. Complete disregard for Moonshadow customs and all.” Callum snorted loudly, and Rayla nudged her shoulder into his. “Now, shut up and stargaze with me, okay?”</p>
<p>He obliged, returning his eyes to the night sky, watching the black curtain gleam with little dots of faraway light. A shooting star cleaved through the darkness, a razor-thin blaze of glory across the sky before disappearing from sight.</p>
<p>Rayla squeezed his hand. Callum glanced down, marveling at how her four fingers fit together perfectly with his five. His fingers bookended her hand, and he wondered if they had been meant to be there all along. How lucky was he to have been in that very hall at the exact moment as her? A little more than six weeks later, he felt as if he’d known her for years. As if he’d <em>loved </em>her for years.</p>
<p>A human and an elf. An assassin and her target <strike>(well, not officially, but he had made himself out to be a target by giving her a false name)</strike>. A prince and a would-be enemy.</p>
<p>Four fingers and five.</p>
<p>Not traditional, indeed.</p>
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